Say it ain’t so
by drizzletomyhurricane
Summary: History repeats itself when teenage Hope finds herself in a troubling situation. Will she and Lola be able to handle it? (REQUESTED)


**So this was a request I got from an anon. It honestly felt kinda strange to write, considering Hope is a baby in my main fic, but it was fun to explore this scenario nevertheless!**

Hope walked into the house one evening after play rehearsal. She was eager to just go straight up to her room, but Lola was waiting for her in the living room, in a chatty mood as usual.

"Oh good, you're home, Mija!" Lola said, especially cheerful. She had a pumpkin candle lit on the counter and was playing Christmas music throughout the house, despite it being January. "Your dad is at work still and Jack has basketball practice, so it's just you and me for dinner. How about we order takeout? I'm thinking Thai food."

"Um, yeah... sure," Hope said. She really wasn't in the mood to make conversation. "I'm not really hungry, though. Maybe I'll just eat leftovers later." She normally loved these girls' nights with her mom, but the thought of any type of food right now made her sick to her stomach. Just talking about it made her want to throw up.

Lola turned the Christmas music down, suddenly noticing Hope's tense expression. "Hope," she said. "Are you okay, honey?"

"Y-yeah," Hope said, her voice trembling a little. She tried to smile. "I'm fine."

Lola raised her brow, not quite buying it. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Hope insisted. For a theatre kid, she sure was doing a lousy job of acting right now. She tried to divert Lola's attention to the card lying on the kitchen counter. "Uh, what's that?" Hope asked, pointing to the mail.

"Oh, it's an invitation to Aunt Zoe and Rasha's party," Lola said. "Their little girl is turning one—" She held the card up to Hope, showing a picture of their smiling baby. "Isn't she the cutest?" she gushed.

Now, Hope really felt sick to her stomach. The baby was adorable but... "Hey, uh, do you mind if I go to my room?" she said quietly. "I... have a lot of homework." She turned towards the stairs.

But Lola just went quiet for a second, studying the fifteen-year old. "Hang on," she said, grabbing Hope's wrist. "You're not hungry for Thai food, you hardly looked at Zoe and Rasha's invitation... and you haven't made _one_ sarcastic comment about my Christmas music." She sighed. "Hope. What's the matter?"

Hope tried to force a smile. She wanted to talk to her mom, wanted to get this off her chest, but she was just so terrified. "It's _nothing_ , Mom!" she insisted. "I... I just..." _Crap._ Hope's voice cracked and she broke into tears. She couldn't hide this, not from Lola.

Lola looked caught off guard. Hope was normally so cheery— mouthy maybe, but almost always happy. She hadn't seen her cry like this in ages. "Hey," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her teenage daughter. " _Hey_. It's okay, baby. Whatever it is, we'll get through it together. If it's grades or friend problems or—"

"Mom..."

"What?" Lola said, ruffling Hope's hair the way she used to do when she was a baby.

Hope didn't look at her. "I... I think I'm pregnant."

Lola froze. She didn't say anything, just sat there staring at Hope like she'd seen a ghost. "Wh-what did you just say?" she finally managed.

"I... I might be pregnant..."

"You can't be _pregnant_ ," Lola said, almost laughing. Like it was totally absurd.

Hope just shrugged, feeling very small. She suddenly wished she had just kept her mouth shut. She normally told her mom almost everything, but...

Lola's face turned pale, like it was just suddenly hitting her. "Ohmigod, you had _sex_?"

"I... it... Mom, _yes_ ," Hope said, flabbergasted that Lola was only just now putting this together. "Why do you think I'm—"

"But you're only 15!" Lola cried. She didn't seem angry or disappointed or anything, just stunned.

"Well, _you_ were _16_ when you—" Hope quickly went quiet, realizing maybe she shouldn't push her luck here. There was a time and place for pushing her parents' buttons and now definitely didn't seem like the right time to do so.

"You never told me," Lola frowned. She sounded almost hurt. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have gotten you on the pill, I would have talked to you about being safe and—" She paused. "Who is he?"

"Who?"

"The _boy_ , Hope," Lola said, tense. "Who did you sleep with?" She sighed. "And don't say you won't tell me, because I'm on the PTA and I _can_ find out—"

"I..." Hope winced. "Okay," she sighed, giving in. Lola _was_ an expert at uncovering school gossip. "It was um... Jake Manning. You know. The lead in the play."

" _Jake Manning_? Well, I know his father, and—"

"Mom, _everyone_ knows who his father is," Hope said. She sighed again. "Just please, don't say anything to anyone. I mean I don't even know for sure and..." She buried her face in her hands, totally lost for words all of a sudden. The gravity— and the scariness— of the situation was just now hitting her and she found herself wondering how Lola must have felt all those years ago when she got pregnant with _her_.

Lola looked just as freaked out, but she tried to stay calm. "Well, how late are you?"

Hope felt nauseous again. "About a week."

"And did you... uh, you know..." Lola looked uncomfortable. "Use a condom...?"

Hope's face went pale. "We... didn't..." she admitted, her voice trembling.

" _Hope..!_ "

"It was only one time! And we just got caught up in the moment and he promised to be careful and—" Hope started to cry again. "God, I can't believe I was so _stupid_."

Lola let out a long, pained sigh. She pulled Hope closer, letting her cry into her shoulder. "Okay, okay, let's just think," Lola said, clearly trying her hardest to stay calm. "Have you taken a test yet?"

"No..." Hope said, still crying. "I mean, I was going to get one, but I was afraid I'd bump into someone I knew at the store and... well, you know, people can be so judgy..."

"Yeah," Lola huffed under her breath. "Tell me about it." She clutched her forehead. "Oh, Hope... this isn't what I wanted for you..."

"Me either," Hope said. She sighed. "Mom...?"

"Mmm?" Lola asked, still clutching her forehead.

" _I'm really scared_ ," Hope whispered. She wrapped her arms around Lola, just suddenly needing her mom. God. She wondered how her mom had handled getting pregnant at her age, especially given how traditional her grandparents were. As terrified as she was right now, she was also just really thankful that Lola wasn't the type of mom who would blow up at her or threaten to kick her out. At least she could talk to her, scary as it was.

Lola rubbed her back. "I know, baby," she said. "I know." She took a deep breath. "But we need to find out, okay?"

"Okay..." Hope sat up, pulling away from Lola a little. "Mom. What if it's positive?"

Lola just sat there quietly for a minute. "Well," she said, reaching for Hope's hand, "what would you want to do?"

Hope paused. What did _she_ want? She honestly hadn't really thought that far. She figured her mom would have some kind of plan or something. She hadn't really considered that it was up to her. She stared down at the floor, softly tracing her hand over her stomach. She tried to picture her life with a baby, but she just... couldn't. Maybe her own mother had chosen to keep her, but being a parent right now at her age just seemed totally nuts. There were so many things she wanted to do in high school still, and Jake didn't even _know_ about this whole thing. She didn't want this, she realized. She didn't want this at all. "Um, to be honest," Hope said, her voice trembling. She couldn't stand to make eye contact, "I... I don't think I would have it."

Lola nodded quietly. "Okay, then."

"You'd... you'd be okay with that?" Hope asked quietly.

"It's your life, Hope," Lola said. She squeezed Hope's hand. "And it's your body... it's your choice."

"Thanks, Mom," Hope whispered, squeezing her hand back. Lola had stayed way calmer about this whole thing than she'd expected, honestly.

Lola nodded, standing up. "But one thing's for sure," she said, her voice suddenly sharp again. "Either way, you are _going_ on the pill after this is all over. And I'm going to make sure you take them correctly. _Dark to light_. Not the other way around."

"Okay," Hope agreed. "And yeah, I know. I've seen packs, everyone knows that."

Lola turned to go up the stairs, shaking her head. "Not everyone," she muttered under her breath.

"Wait. Is _that_ how you got—"

Lola sighed, losing her patience. "Hope?" she said, crossing her arms. "Just be quiet for second."

 _Welp. Guess she knew the answer to that question._ "Where are you going...?" Hope asked.

"To grab you a pregnancy test," Lola said, her voice still tense. "I think there's some in the medicine cabinet somewhere."

"Oh," Hope said. She gulped, feeling sick again all of a sudden. "Um. Okay. Thanks, Mom."

"Mhmm."

Hope waited downstairs, pacing around the kitchen nervously. In a way, the worst was over— she'd already told Lola and she'd more or less made up her mind about what she'd do if, god forbid, it was positive. But... this was still so terrifying. She started beating herself up again for getting herself into this situation. She should have known better, she should have insisted on protection, she should have talked to Lola first, she should have—

Suddenly, the front door slammed. "I'M HOME!" a voice shouted.

 _Shit. Shit, shit, shit._

Hope turned around, turning pale at the sight of her dad. Normally she was happy when he got home from work, but the last thing she wanted to do right now was talk to him about this.

"Hey, princesa," Miles said, giving her a hug. He paused, frowning. "Why the long face?"

Lola came down the stairs just then. "Okay, Hope!" she shouted, oblivious. "I found a pregnancy test in the cabinet and—" She stopped dead in her tracks, just now seeing Miles was home. She dropped the pregnancy test box, sending it clunking down the stairs. " _Oh_ — you're home early..."

"What's going on?" Miles said. He picked up the box off the stairs. "Oh my god," he said, turning to Hope. He looked like he was going to throw up. Or explode. Or faint. " _Hope_...?"

Hope gulped. Her dad was always pretty understanding, but the thought of having to talk to him about this made her want to die. "Um. Dad. I..."

But then Lola interrupted. "It's for a school project," she said quickly. "You remember that robobaby project in home ec we used to have to do? Now Degrassi is taking it a step further and actually making you _buy_ all the materials. A pregnancy test, diapers, bottles... it's to show how expensive parenting is."

Miles paused. He glanced back and forth between Hope and Lola skeptically. "Is that true?" he said to Hope, his voice even but still tense.

"Um... yeah," Hope said right away. "Mhmm. Yeah, this project is a real pain."

"High school projects these days," Lola tsked. "So over the top." She plucked the box right out of Miles' hands and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hope, why don't you put that in your backpack so you don't lose it? Then go wash up for dinner."

Hope quickly nodded, taking the test from Lola. "Okay, Mom." She glanced back at Lola as she sprinted up the stairs, mouthing, _thank you_.

In just a few minutes, her heart could start beating again, Hope tried to tell herself. She locked herself in her bathroom and took the test. She laid it flat on the counter, staring at her cell phone timer as her palms sweated like crazy. God, she never knew three minutes could last so long. _What if it_ is _positive?_ she thought to herself anxiously. What if she changed her mind when she got the results back? What if—

 _DING!_

There was a knock on the door just as the timer went off. "Uhhh, one sec!" Hope called frantically. She couldn't bear to look at the results yet.

"It's me," Hope heard Lola say.

"Oh," Hope said. She unlocked the door and let her in. "Hey..."

Lola crossed her arms, taking a deep breath. She looked just as nervous. "So...?"

Hope shook her head. "I haven't checked the results yet," she said quietly. "Oh god. I think I'm gonna hurl..."

" _Hey_. Hey, it's okay," Lola said. She squeezed Hope's hand, her own wrist trembling like crazy. "Let's just check it together. Okay?"

Hope blinked back tears. "Okay," she whispered. She turned back to the counter and picked up the test. " _Oh my god...!"_

The test was negative.

Both Lola and Hope let out a giant sigh of relief at once. "Oh, thank _god_ ," Lola said. She pulled Hope into a hug and squeezed her as tightly as she could. "Ay dios mio, I almost had a heart attack. Oh, thank _god!_ " She hugged Hope again, even tighter this time.

"I've never been so glad in my _life_ ," Hope said. She could finally breathe again. "Oh my god. I am _never_ letting that happen again..!"

"Mm. Damn right you're not," Lola raised her brow.

Hope went quiet for a second. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Mom," she said, looking down at the floor. "And um... thanks for covering for me. You know, with Dad."

Lola just sighed, beyond relieved. "Like I said," she said, "you're going straight on the pill. And you and I are going to have a _very_ long talk about being safe..."

Hope nodded, still kind of shaky. "Yeah. Okay. I don't think I'll be hooking up with anyone again anytime soon, though. That was like, enough adrenaline for a lifetime."

Lola pulled her into another hug. " _God_ , I love you," she said. She planted a kiss on top of Hope's head. "Don't ever freak me out like that again."

"Yeah... trust me, I think I've learned my lesson," Hope said. She sat on the counter, trying to regain her breath. _Wait._ "Hey, Mom...?"

"Hmm?"

"Um," Hope said. "Why did you have pregnancy tests in the first place?"

Lola froze. "Oh," she said quietly. She turned to face Hope. "Your father and I were going to wait to tell you and Jack together, but..." Her expression softened suddenly and she broke into a small smile. "Well... we're going to have a baby."

Hope sat up straight. This day was just full of one surprise after another. "Wait... what?"

"Yeah," Lola chuckled softly, placing her hand on her middle. "We'd been trying for months and... well, I'm about two months along now. We just wanted to be sure before we told you, and—"

Hope hopped off the counter and gave her mom a hug. She felt her eyes get watery again all of a sudden. Today had just been such a rollercoaster. If she was honest, she wasn't really sure how she felt about getting a new sibling; it seemed so sudden. But her mom seemed happy and that was enough to make Hope smile too. "Still up for Thai food?" she whispered.

Lola just laughed. "Oh, you _bet_ ," she said. "I've been craving that pad Thai all week."


End file.
